D.C. United reacquires Luciano Emilio

Luciano Emilio and D.C. United are together again.

After seemingly parting ways over the winter, the winless MLS club and 2007 league MVP agreed to a three-month contract Wednesday. It includes a club-held option that could keep him in Washington for the entire season.

Pending approval of his international transfer certificate, the Brazilian striker.....

will be eligible to play for a D.C. squad that has scored just two goals in four losses to start the season. Emilio, 31, will resume practicing with the team Thursday and might be cleared in time to play Saturday against the New York Red Bulls at RFK Stadium.

Under terms of the agreement, United will decide in July whether to retain him for the remainder of the season. The club is actively searching overseas for attacking help -- technical director Chad Ashton is in South America this week -- and positioning itself for a possible major acquisition when the international transfer window re-opens in mid-July. The results of that search, combined with Emilio's production and other team factors, will help determine his future. Keeping Emilio and signing a new player seems possible, as well.

He had 41 regular season goals the past three years for United but his production dropped each season.

During the winter, with his contract expired, Emilio joined Rio Branco in Brazil. Though he and United were unable to reach agreement on a new pact, D.C. maintained his MLS rights and attempted to trade him. (Philadelphia and at least one other club were interested.) During the process, General Manager Dave Kasper said repeatedly that United had no intention of retaining him.

One potential deal fell through. With no other options, Emilio lowered his asking price, and with United laboring to score goals, D.C. officials restarted negotiations last week. In other words, they needed one another.

Emilio, who was paid more than $750,000 last year, took a huge cut to return to United. Kasper declined to reveal the figure but said it is "very modest money" and that it will not have a significant impact on the salary cap. To create roster space, United plans to place defender Marc Burch, who is sidelined for several months following foot surgery, on injured reserve.

Asked why United decided to reverse course and reacquire Emilio, Kasper cited the player's lower salary demand and recent hamstring injuries to forwards Chris Pontius and Danny Allsopp. The club's offensive shortcomings -- it has been shut out in three of four league matches -- were undoubtedly a factor too.

"He is a proven commodity in the league," Kasper said. "We know what he is about and he is very motivated."

The front office has to have egg on their face over this either way. If Emilio scores 10 goals in 5 games, they're idiots for not having retained him from the beginning. If he scores 0 goals in 10 games, they're idiots for second-guessing themselves. I'm not sure what else I can say.

This is discouraging. There is genuine excitement for all the teams in MLS...except DCU. While other teams are scouting exciting, affordable talent or investing money into DPs, DCU is signing retreads and waiver wire fodder. Have fun in South America Chad but we all know you're just going to re-sign Gomez during your layover in Miami.

There isn't any hope that he will actually help the attack. It was obvious last season that he had lost at least one step, perhaps two, and could not produce without a superior midfield creating golden opportunities for him, a midfield we didn't have then and certainly don't have now.

On the one hand, this is a pure genius move. Imagine if DCU had agreed to his contract demands over the offseason. We are getting him at a seeming bargain, and he seems to have a chip on his shoulder that can perhaps motivate him.

On the other hand, it is disheartening that our vaunted Latin American scouting operation can't find anyone other than a DCU retread. When did this franchise become so pathetic overnight?

Goff "In other words, they needed one another." Or better yet... 'They deserve each other'. Allsopp has a hammy as well? Christman
Barklage
Allsopp

The 17 yr. old wonder boy who is being rushed & in horrible situation...
Chad Ashton - Ashton Kutcher - Bruce Willis all poised for a major South American signing Uh yeah..OK & throw in Franck Ribery as well for the perfect off-season cluster....
Dave Kasper asleep at the wheel again
#99 doesn't deserve this train wreck

as much as I don't really like this, it makes sense. DC really sucks. If Emilio is motivated and produces, it will make his trade value more, and it may help us win some games. If he doesn't produce, we spent a little money, and can cut our losses after 3 months.

This is the first move that makes any sense to me this season. They never should have let Emilio go in the first place without having a proper replacement. Now at least Jaime or whoever can have somebody to service the ball to. I am very happy that Lucigoal is back!

This is a shocking move. DC United might as well have signed a white flag of surrender. The front office has no plan--not even as much as a single lead--to lift this team out of last place.

Luci isn't any better today than he was when DC released him because he wasn't good enough. I know they're signing him for a lot less money, but they are also admitting that they don't intend for the team to improve in the future.

Off topic, but I actually woke up this morning thinking that the shrewdest coaching move we will see all season was Caleb Porter's decision to stay at Akron.

all of the emilio bashers need to consider that he had wonderful service when he was scoring all those goals. did emilio suddenly start sucking, or was he never all that good to begin with? he set the bar high when he first came here. we lost some talent, and he started to struggle. when he was scoring, the FO rewarded him, justifiably, for playing well. when he struggled, we all called the FO stupid. I'm not giving a pass to the FO for the rest of their questionable moves, but I have no problem really on how they have handled emilio. No one has a crystal ball and can tell that someone is going suck after they make big money.

that being said, I think he is still going to struggle, because he will not have much good service. however, he needs to play well for his future career, so at this point, it is a good move for United. I mean, we can't do any worse.

all of the emilio bashers need to consider that he had wonderful service when he was scoring all those goals. did emilio suddenly start sucking, or was he never all that good to begin with? he set the bar high when he first came here. we lost some talent, and he started to struggle. when he was scoring, the FO rewarded him, justifiably, for playing well. when he struggled, we all called the FO stupid. I'm not giving a pass to the FO for the rest of their questionable moves, but I have no problem really on how they have handled emilio. No one has a crystal ball and can tell that someone is going suck after they make big money.

that being said, I think he is still going to struggle, because he will not have much good service. however, he needs to play well for his future career, so at this point, it is a good move for United. I mean, we can't do any worse.

Never did understand what Kasper et al were thinking when they decided to dump Emilio and Gomez (and later Fred) to begin with. A bit long in the tooth, sure, but they generally got results. With those guys around, United were probably one or two more impact players away from another MLS Cup appearance. In any case, a complete makeover wasn't necessary or warranted -- the team just needed to sign and integrate some outstanding new guys (like Pontius). Unfortunately for D.C. fans, they went for the extreme makeover and it backfired, as extreme makeovers are wont to do. Maybe they'll know better next time.

I hope Emilio does well, and if the salary is reasonable I don't see this as a bad move necessarily... but man, it really does reek of desperation. I hope the front office has legitimate plans for summer acquisitions, but at this point I'm not holding my breath. Who's next? Mario Gori? Ben Iroha?

I don't see a downside to this and I welcome Luciano back under the reported terms. He can step in and be a threat, acknowledging that he's not likely to get a lot of good service. For him (well, for anyone) you can't ask too much where he's less effective - holding the ball, receiving long balls out of the back with first touch. With the ball at his feet he's a handful one on one. As far as "motivated", he can show that by picking up his defensive game and seeing others better and using them in the attack. Good luck Luci.

Asked why United decided to reverse course and reacquire Emilio, Kasper should have said, "Have you seen us play? Really, how much worse can we be with him than without him. Face it. We're going nowhere, and we can get just rid of him again next year when we promise to 'improve' the team. And, by the way, next year we're going to use magic to get better."

If they bring him in for 3 months--until the summer transfer window opens and they bring in some "big name signing"--will Luci still take up a roster spot if they can successfully trade him to someone else in MLS or waive him or whatever?

If so then this is a brilliant move (even if it looks or is desperation). You bring in a guy with a lot of motivation to prove himself (he needs the suitors as badly as DCU wants the suitors to be there) for reportedly MUCH less than you used to pay him. If there was someone else then this might not be smart, but THERE IS NO ONE ELSE until the summer transfer window.

So for right now you get someone who will either bust or be awesome for the 3 months where you couldn't do anything else anyway, and then you have the option to sell him or waive him or whatever you want while you bring in some big cash signings.

I applaud the F.O. for this move because even if he sucks DCU gets no worse. If he does well then he was worth the money until new blood can be brought in. If he amazes then you can use that as trade bait or keep him around at a highly reduced salary. For DCU it seems like a win win win to me.